We Interrupt This Blog For Real Life

An amazing thing happened recently...my computer crashed. Well, actually two computers crashed, one of them twice. I was beginning to wonder if it was a divine sign after the first time. After two crashed computers...hmmm. I'm borrowing another of Papa Bear's computers to write this, but my camera is mysteriously broken also, so no pictures. Is it just me or does it seem that all of this broken technology points to more than coincidence?

In the meantime, I've been catching up on all those chores and projects that I thought I didn't have time for. I spent all yesterday afternoon and evening (until midnight) working on:

• Emptying the office closet, so I can make it a quiet nook for the boys and a safe place during storms. It's in the center of the house, under the stairs. I removed the lower shelf and added it to the top one to create a place for emergency supplies. My plan is to paint the walls, put a large cushion or floor pillow in the bottom, and maybe add a section of rain gutter bookshelves or other low-profile book holder.
• Reorganizing the downstairs and upstairs hall closets to make room for stuff from the office closet. That led to culling through our sheet sets. Some had to go, some were suitable for camping, a few lone flat sheets are going into a fort making kit for the boys, and the remaining complete sets are being stored in their respective bedrooms. I still need to find a place for our board games.
• Sorting and putting away a mountain of clothing that I had not wanted to deal with. Some outgrown things that needed to be put in storage. Mostly clean clothes that I had let pile up because putting away clothes is my least favorite chore. To make it easier for me and the hobbits to put things away, this became...
• Taking the sliding doors off of the hobbits closet, hanging a curtain rod, and using ring clips to hang twin sheet curtains. The three youngest share a closet and their chest of drawers is in there also. Of course, I had to straighten and clean out the closet and then that led to...
• Cleaning the hobbits' room. That by itself is a big job. Everything is now in its place. Even the space under the beds is clear. For the moment. Once the room was clean, I got started on... 
• Hanging a couple of pictures and peg racks on the walls for their hats and dress up stuff. I had found the peg racks at thrift stores long ago and finally spray painted them white yesterday, in between my other projects.

The hobbits love the changes to their room. None of them know about the empty closet yet or else they would be in it right now. Kids do love cozy nooks. Needless to say, I did not have a hard time falling asleep last night. Now, I'm off to buy a gift for my niece's daughter's birthday party tomorrow, pick out a paint color for the "secret nook", purchase a new shower curtain liner, browse the thrift store, and pick up a few groceries.